Expert: Peterson should use care in talking to kids about their missing Mom.

Drew Peterson, although the prime suspect in his fourth wife's disappearance, still contends Stacy Peterson, 23, has run off with another man. But that's not what he's telling his kids.

When asked by NBC's Matt Lauer how the former police sergeant explains to his two young children "why mom isn't home," Peterson says he tells them, "Mommy’s on vacation.”

We’ve got to wonder if hearing that mom is on a perpetual holiday will have any damaging effects on these children. So we asked Rosanne Tobey, a New Jersey-based family counselor and friend of Mom•Logic, for her take on Peterson's rather feeble explanation to his kids.

"It's alarming.  An explanation like that, could leave these children
 facing serious abandonment issues in the future," said Tobey.

What's most important is that parents be honest with their children.
 If a parent is missing tell them "Mommy loves you very much.  We don't know where mommy is right now but you know where ever she is she loves you very much."